A man sentenced in Ventura County Superior Court for possession of marijuana for sale in 1994 was among 91 people pardoned by Gov. Jerry Brown on Christmas Eve.

William Aaron Zigler served four years and seven months' probation following his conviction, the governor's office said Thursday. He was discharged in December 1998 after completing probation.

Since then, Zigler "has lived an honest and upright life, exhibited good moral character and conducted himself as a law-abiding citizen," the governor's office said in his pardon.

To be eligible for a pardon, criminals must have been out of prison for at least 10 years and not committed any new crimes, according to state officials.

While a 1986 law allowed for the manufacture, export, sale and medical and scientific use of marijuana, the practice was, until Tuesday, never formally regulated.Current law already allows possession of up to 20 grams of marijuana or cultivation of up to 20marijuana plants for personal use.

The U.S Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Wednesday relaxed some restrictions on research evaluating cannabidiol, an extract of the marijuana plant, for medicinal use.

The modifications will ease some requirements imposed by the Controlled Substances Act on possession of cannabidiol (CBD) for a specific U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved research protocol, the DEA said.

So far, researchers who expanded the scope of their studies and required more CBD than initially approved had to request, in writing, for a modification to their DEA research registrations.

The effort to legalize a wider use of medical marijuana in Florida has a lot of support, an Orlando Business Journal poll found.

In the unscientific poll, "Will you vote for or against medical marijuana in November 2016?" 91.5 percent of the 473 responses said, "I will vote for broadening medical marijuana use." The remaining 8.5 percent said, "I will vote against broadening medical marijuana use."

An OBJ poll found that there is a lot of support for legalizing a wider use of medical… more

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg

The Drug Enforcement Administration announced Wednesday it’s making research into the non-intoxicating cannabis compound cannabidiol (CBD) easier, but advocates for legal access to what appears an effective treatment for epilepsy say the change doesn’t go nearly far enough.

The policy tweak will allow researchers to modify or expand existing federally approved CBD studies without having to undergo a potentially time-consuming review by the DEA, which along with the Food and Drug Administration acts as a gatekeeper to cannabis research.

DEA spokeswoman Barbara Carreno says there currently are 330 active cannabis studies, with more than 70 looking at CBD, a handful of which are clinical studies that may benefit from the new policy.

As the year comes to a close, cannabis supporters are looking towards 2016 with great anticipation. With the presidential election looming, there is guaranteed to be a massive voter turnout and the initiatives that are poised for inclusion on the 2016 ballot stand a chance to make some big changes. But which states are most likely to legalize next? Here are our predictions for 2016.

NEVADA

In 2015, state legislators considered bills to legalize marijuana in 21 states, decriminalize marijuana possession in 17 states, and legalize medical marijuana in 19 states.

Most of the action in 2015 was aimed at achieving substantial victories in 2016, which is slated to be the most successful year in the history of the movement to end marijuana prohibition.

With this in mind, the Marijuana Policy Project is hereby releasing its top 10 list for 2015. I'm excluding international and scientific developments, instead focusing on policy developments in the United States.

Now that the holiday season has arrived, along with its spirit of giving, I’d like to share how HOBO has been giving back this year -- our pro bono cause to help end prohibition of marijuana.

Here’s why. Earlier this year someone I know was arrested for marijuana possession. As events unfolded from initial charges, to multiple court appearances, to final dismissal, I felt like I was witnessing a carefully choreographed sham.  

That experience led me to research the history of marijuana. What I uncovered was so outrageous that I decided to create a division within HOBO to help end prohibition of Marijuana. We named the division, The Green Point.

In April 2016, the United Nations will have a chance to forge a smarter way forward for global drug policy.

In this video, George Soros, Bryan Stevenson, Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, and a number of drug policy experts and advocates discuss why the time for reform is now.